The Runaway
by steampunkqueen2489
Summary: a young woman named Elizabeth Valentine comes into Virginia City, running from her previous life. The Cartwrights offer for her to stay on the Ponderosa. What will ensue?
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

-Part 1: Arrival-

The young girl looked around as she stepped off of the stagecoach. The town was different than San Francisco, where she was from. It was smaller, not quite as bustling, and it seemed more rough. Virginia City was, after all, a mining town for the most part. She was carrying just a small bag containing some of her belongings, the ones most important to her as she had to leave some behind when she left. Her dark, wavy hair was worn tied up, except for a few stray strands that hung freely around her face, and she was wearing a fairly plain, red dress. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, just trying to get away from where she came from. She began walking, still looking around. Before she realized it, she felt herself slam into someone, which knocked her to the ground, causing her to drop her bag.

"I'm so sorry. That was my fault." she said, looking up to see who she had run into. It was a young man with black, wavy hair and dark grey eyes. He was smiling and extending his hand out to her to help her up. He was wearing a grey coat with a white shirt underneath, grey pants, boots, and a grey cowboy hat. He had a black handkerchief tied around his neck, and the way he was dressed reminded her very much of someone from the south. He was also wearing a pistol on his hip. She took his hand, letting him help her up.

"Thank you." she said, smiling, "But, I'm alright." She dusted herself off and picked her bag up off of the ground. The young man laughed slightly.

"I can see that." he said, grinning, then extending his hand to her in greeting, he introduced himself, "Joe Cartwright."

"Elizabeth. Elizabeth Valentine." she said, shaking hands with him. Though the way he was dressed was reminiscent of a southerner, he didn't have even the faintest bit of an accent.

"I don't ever remember seeing you around town before." Joe said.

"No, you wouldn't. I just got here." Elizabeth said.

"Well, where are you headed, Libby? You look a little bit lost." he said.

"Libby?" she said.

"Isn't that short for Elizabeth?" he said, shrugging his shoulders, "If you don't want me to call you that..."

"No, it's okay. It's just, nobody's ever called me that before, that's all. I kind of like it." she said.

"Good." Joe said, smiling again, "But, you never did answer my question."

"I... I don't really know. For now, I guess I'm just looking for somewhere to stay." she said.

Just then, another man walked up to Joe. He was a tall, husky man with bright blue eyes.

"Little Joe, what in the Sam Hill are you...?" the man, who obviously knew Joe, started to say, though he stopped in mid sentence and looked at Libby when he realized that Joe wasn't alone.

"Ma'am." he said politely, tipping his hat.

"This is my brother, Hoss." Joe said.

"Hoss Cartwright. Pleased to meet you, ma'am." the man, Hoss, said, extending his hand to her in greeting.

"Libby Valentine. Nice to meet you." she said, shaking hands with him. Joe felt strangely happy at hearing her introduce herself using the nickname he had given her.

"Little Joe, we'd better get back home. Pa is prob'ly waiting for us. He's probably wonderin' what's takin' us so long." Hoss said.

"Hoss, Libby here is looking for a place to stay. Why don't we take her back to the Ponderosa, see if pa will let her stay there?" Joe said.

"Now, Little Joe, I don't know if that's..." Hoss started to say, but Joe spoke up again, cutting his brother off on mid sentence.

"Now, Hoss, you know the kind of people that are in this town. Do you want this poor girl staying in a hotel by herself?" he said.

"No. I reckon it wouldn't be too safe for a young lady to stay by herself in this town." Hoss said.

"It's alright. I don't want to inconvenience anyone." Libby said. As she turned to walk away, Joe put his hand on her shoulder.

"Libby, you won't be bothering anybody, really. I'm sure our pa won't mind." Joe said.

"Yeah, it don't sit right with me lettin' you stay in town by yourself. It ain't too safe." Hoss said.

"Our pa owns the Ponderosa ranch. You'd be safer staying with us. It's no problem, really." Joe said. She didn't care very much for the idea of staying with strangers, but, then, she also really didn't care for the idea of staying by herself in a hotel in this town.

"Alright. If you're sure it won't inconvenience your family too much, I'll stay with you. But, just for a while." she finally agreed. Joe and Hoss led her over to where two horses were tied. One was a black and white paint horse, and the other was dark brown with a white stripe down the front of it's head.

"This should be interesting. I've never ridden a horse before." Libby said.

"It's easy." Little Joe said. He helped Libby up onto the paint horse, which apparently belonged to him, then, he himself got up onto the horse, sitting in front of her. Hoss got up onto the other horse.

"Just hold onto me, alright?" Little Joe told Libby. She nodded and wrapped her arms around Joe. Even though he knew that the only reason she was holding onto him was so that she didn't fall, he felt his heartbeat speed up, just a little.

They rode out of town and across a distance of land until they reached a ranch-house.

"This is where you live?" Libby asked.

"Yes, ma'am." Hoss said. Joe got down off of the horse, then helped Libby down.

"I'll take the horses to the barn. You can go talk to pa." Hoss said as he got down off of his horse.

"Why me?" Joe asked.

"This was your idea, Little Joe." Hoss said.

"Yeah, alright." Little Joe said. Inside the house, there was a significantly older, gray-haired man sitting at a desk. Standing beside him was a tall man with black hair and blue-grey eyes. He was older looking than Little Joe and Hoss, but still much younger than the older man sitting at the desk. Both men turned their attention to Joe and Libby when they walked in.

"Pa, I need to talk to you." Joe said. The older man, who was apparently Joe's and Hoss' father, stood up from his chair and walked over to them. The younger man just stood with his arms crossed, watching them.

"Joe, what's going on?" the older man asked.

"Pa, this is Libby. She just came to town and she's got nowhere to go. I was thinking maybe she could stay here for a little while." Little Joe said. The gray-haired man looked from Joe to Libby and back again.

"Joe, where's your brother?" he asked.

"Hoss is putting the horses in the barn. He'll be right in. So, pa, what do you say?" Joe said. Joe's father sighed.

"Alright." he finally said. Joe smiled.

"Libby this is my pa and my brother, Adam." Joe introduced. That was who the tall, dark haired man was, Joe and Hoss' brother. Libby guessed that Adam was the oldest as he looked older than both Joe and Hoss.

"Ben Cartwright." the boys' father, Ben, introduced himself, extending his hand in greeting.

"Libby Valentine." Libby introduced, shaking hands with him.

"It's nice to meet you, Libby." Ben said. Adam finally walked over to them.

"Hello." Libby said.

"Your full name is Elizabeth, I assume." Adam said.

"Yes. Joe called me Libby, and it just kind of stuck." she said, smiling.

"It's a good name, Elizabeth. It was my mother's name." Adam said.

"Really? Well, I happen to think it's a good name." she said, "It's nice to meet you, Adam."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Elizabeth." Just then, Hoss walked into the house.

"Hoss, Libby is staying with us." Joe told him, smiling.

"Well, that's great." Hoss said.

"Joe, would you show Libby to one of our guest rooms?" Ben said.

"Yeah, pa." Joe said, "Come on, Libby. Follow me." Joe led her up the stairs and down a hall into a room.

"Well, this is it." Joe said.

"It's nice. Thank you." she said as she set her bag on the floor.

"It's no problem, Libby." Joe said, "If you need anything, let me know, alright?"

"Alright." Libby said. Joe left the room, Libby began unpacking her things.


	2. Chapter 2

-Part 2-

Libby woke a few days later to a knock at her door. Since coming to the Cartwright house, she had slept better than she had in a long time.

"Hey, Libby, are you awake?"

She recognized the voice. It was Little Joe. She smiled. The last few days that she had spent with the Cartwrights were the happiest she could remember in a long time, but, she especially liked Little Joe Cartwright.

"Yes, Little Joe. I'm awake." she said.

"Hop Sing has breakfast on the table. He'll have a heart attack if you don't come down and have some." Joe said. Hop Sing was the Cartwrights' cook, a small, middle aged Chinese man who was very passionate about his cooking. Libby laughed.

"Alright. I'll be down in a few minutes." she said. She got dressed and put her hair up, then walked downstairs and into the kitchen. She still felt out of place there, both as the only woman, and not being part of the family, though this was by no fault of the Cartwrights. They did everything they could to make her feel at home. But, Libby wasn't used to being around people, and it would take time. When she walked into the kitchen, the four Cartwrights were already sitting around the table.

"Joe, I told you to let the poor girl sleep. She could come and get some breakfast when she was ready." Ben said when he saw her enter the room. The truth was, it had been a long time since a woman had lived in the Cartwright house, and Ben liked this young woman. He had never had any daughters, and it was nice having her around.

"It's alright, Mr. Cartwright. I don't mind." Libby said.

"Please. Just Ben." be said. Libby liked Ben. He reminded her of her own father, firm, but also kind.

"Sit down, Miss Libby." Hoss said.

"Thank you, Hoss." she said, sitting down in an empty chair.

"Hey, pa, after breakfast, I was thinking about taking Libby out and giving her some riding lessons." Joe said.

"I think that's an alright idea. If it's alright with Libby, of course." Ben said.

"Well, Libby, how about it?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, I'd like that. I always wanted to ride a horse." she said.

After breakfast, Joe led her out to the barn. In a stall in the back of the barn, there was a black horse with a white diamond-shaped marking on it's forehead.

"When you learn to ride, this horse is yours." Joe told her.

"What? Are you saying… you're giving me a horse?" she said.

"Think of it as a gift from our family." Joe said, "I talked to pa about it last night, and he wants you to have it, too."

"That's an awfully expensive gift." Libby said.

"We can afford it. Besides, you're going to need a horse. And, look around. We've got plenty of them." Joe said.

"Well… alright. If you say so." she said.

"Well, then, she's yours." Joe said, smiling.

"Not until I learn to ride." she said.

"You will." Joe said.

"Well," she said, walking over to the horse, and petting it on the head, "I guess she'll need a name."

"Well, she's yours, so, what's her name going to be?" Joe asked. Libby thought for a minute, looking at the horse, who nudged her hand.

"How about Stella?" she said.

"Stella?" Joe asked.

"Yeah. The marking on her head kind of reminds me of a star. Stella means star in." Libby explained. Joe smiled.

"Hm. Stella it is." he said. They led the horse out to an open area and Joe started teaching her the basics of horseback riding. Over the next couple of days, Joe continued teaching her, and she practiced. She was a quick learner, and grasped the teachings fairly quickly.

"So, how's Miss Libby's learnin' goin'?" Hoss asked, one morning at breakfast.

"It's going good. Libby is a smart girl, quick learner." Joe said, smiling. Libby was sure that Little Joe Cartwright had the most beautiful smile and had ever seen. Adam looked at his youngest brother. He noticed the way he looked at the young woman. He had seen Joe flirt with many women before, but he had never seen him look at any of them quite the way he looked at her. He wondered if Ben noticed it, too, as he was looking at Joe as well.

"How do you like the horse, Libby?" Ben asked.

"She's a beautiful horse, Ben. Thank you again, so much." Libby said.

"Glad to hear. What was the name you chose again?" Ben said.

"Her name is Stella. It means star. The marking on her forehead reminded me of a star." Libby explained.

"That's a mighty fine name." Hoss said. Libby smiled at him, then, turned to look at Joe.

"Hey, Little Joe, I was wondering if we could go out riding later today." she said, "I think I've learned just about everything."

"What?" Joe said, "i don't know..."

"You said yourself I'm doing really well." she said.

"You are. But, I don't know if you're ready for..." Joe said.

"Son," Ben said, "It's alright. She'll be fine."

"Yeah, I saw her riding yesterday. She's more than ready." Adam said.

"Little Joe." Libby said.

"Alright." Joe finally said.

"Yes! Thank you!" Libby said. Her face lit up as she ate her breakfast excitedly. Ben, Adam, and Hoss smiled as they watched her. Joe still looked concerned.

Later that day, Joe and Libby went out to the barn. Libby saddled up Stella, and Joe saddled up his horse, the black and white paint named Cochise. They rode around some of the land of the Ponderosa, and eventually came up along the bank of Lake Tahoe.

"We should stop for a while, water the horses, let them rest for a few minutes." Joe said. This was the first he had spoken since they had set out on the ride.

"Yeah. Okay." Libby said. They got down from their horses, and let them drink from the lake. They let the horses rest, walk and graze. Libby could tell something was off about Joe, he was bothered by something, but she didn't know what.

"This land is beautiful. I've never seen so much of it before." she said, as she and Joe walked side by side.

"Yeah. Thanks." was all Joe said. He looked almost like he was lost in thought.

"Little Joe, are you mad at me for something?" Libby asked. This snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked at her. That was the last thing he wanted her to think.

"No, Libby. I'm not mad at you. You didn't do anything wrong." he said.

"Then, what's wrong?" she asked. He looked at her. Her dark brown eyes were locked on him.

"My mother died in a horse accident when I was five years old." Joe said.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't..." Libby said.

"It's alright. You couldn't know. But, that's why I was kind of nervous about you actually going out riding. Learning with me standing right there is one thing, but..." he said, fixing his grey eyes on her.

"Oh. You were afraid I would get hurt." she said quietly.

"Yeah. Something like that." he said, looking away.

"Your mother? Not Adam's and Hoss', too?" Libby asked.

"No." he explained, looking back at her, "Each of us had a different mother. My pa was married three times."

"Oh." she said.

"Adam's mother was from Boston. Hoss's mother was from Sweden. My mother, she was Creole, from Louisiana." Joe said. That explained the slight southern influence she noticed in Joe.

"Really? My mother was from Italy. She was an opera singer. My father, he was an American sailor, the captain of a ship." Libby said.

"So, then, where are you from?" Joe asked.

"I was born in California, San Francisco. I've lived there all my life... well, until I left." she said. She said the last part more quietly, and Joe sensed that there was more to the situation.

"So, why did you leave your parents in San Francisco to come to Virginia City when you didn't have anything there?" he asked. And looked at him in a way that made him immediately regret asking the question.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." he said.

"No, it's alright. You and your family have been so good to me, I owe you at least that." she said, "My parents are dead. My mother died when I was born. My father died at sea when I was sixteen. They sent me to live with my uncle because he was the only family I had left. He's my mother's brother. But, he's not a nice man. He would get mad, and, he would beat me. He abused me, physically and emotionally. I think he always blamed me for my mother's death because she died giving birth to me. I think it reminds him of it every time he looks at me. So, I ran away."

"Libby, that's... I'm sorry." Joe said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. I don't want people to see me as a victim. Especially you..." she said. She stared at him for a moment, then, began to walk away.

"Libby, where are you going?" he said.

"I'm putting you all I'm danger by being here. I have to leave. I'm sorry. My uncle won't stop until he gets me back, and there's no telling what he'll do to it. Not even because he wants me back, but just because he doesn't want me to get away. I was a fool to think I could get away from him." she said.

"Wait." Joe said, grabbing her shoulder.

"Let go." she said, jerking free of his grasp.

"Libby, listen to me will you?" he said, grabbing her arm and turning her around to face him. He let go of her arm and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Libby, you're not putting anyone in danger. We can defend ourselves, trust me. There's no way we're just going to let your uncle have you, and I'm sure my pa and brothers fell the same way. Stay with us. We won't let him get you. And we'll be fine. Trust me." he said.

"You're sure?" she asked.

"Yeah." Joe said.

"Alright." Libby said.

"Good. Now don't to getting any ideas about running off, got it?" he said. She smiled, just slightly. They hadn't noticed, but the sun was setting and it was starting to get dark.

"We must have been out riding all day. We'd better get back." Libby said.

"Yeah. It's already getting dark." Joe said. They began walking back over towards the horses when Libby tripped over a rock. She was ready to hit the ground when she realized that she had stopped falling and was in Joe's arms. He had caught her before she could reach the ground. They stood in each other's arms, staring at each other for a moment.

"Libby," Joe said, "I've never met anybody like you."

"I can say the same about you." Libby said.

"Libby, I really like you. You know that?" he said.

"I like you a lot, too, Joe." she said.

"Libby, that's why I was nervous about letting you go riding. I guess I was... afraid of losing another person I care about that way." Joe said.

"Joe..." she said. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. She was scared at first. She had never kissed anyone before. She wasn't sure what to do. Then, she kissed him back. When they finally broke the kiss, they stood, looking at each other again.

"You're a great kisser." Joe said, smiling.

"Thanks. You're not so bad, yourself." she said, laughing, "You know, that's the first time I've ever kissed anybody."

"Now, you're just messing with me." Joe said.

"No, it's true." she said.

"Then, that makes me the luckiest man in the world." he said, smiling.

"Such a smooth-talker." Libby said, smacking him playfully.

"What can I say? It's my southern charm." Joe said. They both laughed as they walked towards their horses.

They rode back to the ranch-house and put their horses up in the barn. When they entered the house, the others were already sitting at the table.

"Where have you two been?" Adam asked.

"You two done almost missed dinner. We was gonna eat without you." Hoss said.

"I'm sorry." Libby said, "I didn't mean to be disrespectful."

"It's alright, Libby." Ben said. They walked over to the table, and sat down.

"Pa, I've got to talk to you." Joe said after Libby had gone to bed.

"What is it, Joe? Is something wrong?" Ben asked.

"Pa, Libby told me she came to Virginia City to get away from her uncle. He beats her." Joe said.

"Her uncle?" Adam said.

"Yeah." Joe said.

"Ain't she got any folks?" Hoss asked.

"Her parents are dead. They sent her to live with her uncle, but he beats her. She's afraid he's going to come back after her." Joe said.

"She told you this?" Adam asked.

"Yeah." Joe said, "She was so afraid she was putting us in danger by being here, she was going to leave. I talked her out of it. I told her we'd protect her."

"We sure will, won't we, pa?" Hoss said.

"Yeah. We will. She's safe with us." Ben said. On the way to his room, Joe stopped in front of the guest room for a moment. The door to the room was open, and he could see Libby sleeping peacefully in bed, her eyes closed, her dark, wavy hair flowing freely around her face. He smiled and continued down the hall to his room.


	3. Chapter 3

-Part 3-

One day, after Libby had been living on the Ponderosa for about a month, she was with the Cartwrights in Virginia City. She was walking a short distance behind Little Joe when she felt someone grab her arm. The person pulled her behind a building and put their hand over her mouth.

"Elizabeth, I finally found you."

She knew the voice. It was her uncle, Vincent. By this time, Joe noticed that she was missing, and was calling out her name. She tried to scream, but she couldn't with her uncle's hand over her mouth.

"Elizabeth, if you scream, I'll shoot Little Joe down right here in the street. Do you understand me?" her uncle, Vincent said. She knew that her uncle would not hesitate to do it, and while Little Joe did mostly always wear a gun on his hip, her uncle Vincent had the element of surprise on him. The last thing that she wanted was for Little Joe to get shot because of her. She nodded her head and stopped struggling against her uncle's grip.

"That's better." he said, removing his hand from her mouth.

"Now, come on." he said as he began walking her out of town, into the desert.

"You and Little Joe are awfully cozy aren't you?" he said.

"Little Joe is none of your business. You stay away from him." she said, "How did you find me?"

"It wasn't easy. And it took me a while." he answered. He reached over and slapped her across the face.

"That was for running away! Don't you ever think you can get away from me!" he said. She glared, and spit at him.

"You disobedient little shit!" he said, grabbing her roughly, "I'm taking you home, and I'm going to teach you a lesson."

Back in town, Joe was beginning to worry. He knew that she wouldn't just disappear. She had been living with them for a month, and if she was going to leave, she would have done it by then. He walked over to where they had tied their horses, and he saw that her horse, Stella, was still tied to the post. He knew something was wrong. Libby was smart. She wouldn't try to get through the desert on foot, without her horse. She knew better than that. He walked back over to where he had been when she disappeared. That was when he noticed the footprints, two sets of them leading out into the desert. He could see Ben in the distance, coming out of the general store. He ran over to him.

"Joe, what on earth is going on?" he asked.

"Pa, it's Libby. She's missing. I think her uncle might be behind this." Joe told him.

"I'll get the sheriff." Ben said.

"Alright. I saw some footprints leading out into the desert. I'm going to follow them, try and find her." Joe said. Ben nodded and headed to the sheriff's office, and Joe followed the footprints out into the desert. He didn't have to walk very far before he could see Libby and her uncle.

"Hey!" he yelled as he walked up to them with his gun in hand.

"Joe." she said.

"You shut up." her uncle Vincent said, putting his hand over her mouth. Then, he stopped and turned to face Joe.

"Little Joe Cartwright. You came to rescue her. How sweet." he said.

"I'm going to tell you once. Let her go." Joe said, pointing his gun at Libby's uncle.

"And I'm going to tell you once, Joe Cartwright," Libby's uncle said, pointing his gun at Libby, "Walk away, or I'll shoot her."

"You'll shoot your own niece." Joe said.

"She's nothing but a disobedient little bitch." Libby's uncle said.

"You'll never get away with it. My pa is on his way with the sheriff right now." Joe said.

"I'll shoot her before they even get here. And me going to jail afterwards won't make her any less dead." Libby's uncle said.

"Alright. Fine." Joe said. Just then, Libby bit down on her uncle's hand. Hard. He yelped in pain and threw her on the ground. She rolled down a hill, hitting her head on a rock. Joe, who hadn't put his gun down yet, took this opportunity to shoot Libby's uncle in the leg, causing him to fall to the ground. Just then, Ben and the sheriff came riding up. They got off of their horses and walked over to Libby's uncle. Little Joe ran over to Libby, who was laying in the ground, out cold.

"Libby. Libby, wake up." he said, touching her face. He gently grabbed her shoulder and tried to shake her awake.

"Libby, come , on." he said. He looked over at Ben, who was still standing with the sheriff.

"Pa!" Joe yelled.

"What is it?" Ben asked, walking over to Joe. Hoss and Adam rode up as the sheriff handcuffed Libby's uncle.

"She's not waking up." Joe told Ben.

"We have to get her back to town, to the doctor." Ben said. Joe carried Libby back to town on his horse, and the sheriff took Libby's uncle to jail. Ben, Adam and Hoss rode back into town as well.

"Get her to the doctor. I'm going over to the sheriff's office to have a talk with Libby's uncle." Ben said once they got back to Virginia City.

"Hoss and I are going to ride back to the Ponderosa. We'll take her horse back with us." Adam said. Joe gently got Libby down off of the horse and carried her in his arms into the doctor's building.

"What happened to this girl?" the doctor asked when he saw Joe carrying her into the building.

"Her uncle pushed her and she hit her head on a rock. It's a long story, but he's sitting in jail right now." Joe said.

"Lay her here." the doctor said, motioning for him to lay her on one of the beds. The doctor checked her over.

"It's hard to say for sure, but she should wake up in a little while." he said after he was finished.

"You mind if I stay with her until she does?" Joe asked.

"Of course not, Little Joe. Stay as long as you need." the doctor told him.

"Thanks." Joe said. He pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat down in it.

"Come on, Libby." he said quietly, gently stroking her cheek.

"Ben, are you here to see the prisoner?" the sheriff asked when Ben walked into the jail.

"Yes." Ben said, "I'd like to talk to him."

"Go ahead." the sheriff said. Ben walked back to where the jail cell was.

"Ben Cartwright." Libby's uncle said.

"That's right." Ben said, "And, you're Libby's uncle. Vincent, wasn't it?"

"That's right." Libby's uncle, Vincent, answered.

"What is wrong with you?" Ben asked, "Why would you treat your niece that way? And then, to try to kill her."

"What do you know, anyway, Cartwright?" Vincent said.

"I know that most people don't do things without a reason. So, what's yours?" Ben said.

"Don't you dare judge me, Cartwright. Don't you dare." Vincent said.

"I'm not judging you. I'm just trying to understand." Ben told him. Vincent was silent for a moment.

"You have no idea, Cartwright." he finally said, "She looks just like my sister. My sister does because of her. She died giving birth to her. Every time I look at her, it brings it all back."

"She's the only thing you have left of your sister. She's part of her, and she's your flesh and blood. You should be glad to have her. You should cherish her. Not only that, but she's a wonderful young woman." Ben said.

"You couldn't understand, Cartwright." Vincent said.

"Yes. Yes, I can understand. My first wife died giving birth to my oldest son, Adam. But, I don't hate Adam for it. Just the opposite. He's part of her, and part of me. The mothers of all three of my sons are dead, but I don't hate them because they're a reminder of it. I love all three of my sons." Ben said. Vincent looked at Ben for a moment, then buried his face in his hands and began crying. Ben left the jailhouse and walked to the doctor's building where Joe and Libby were.

"How's she doing?" Ben asked.

"The doctor says she should wake up in a little bit. He can't be sure, though." Joe said, "Pa, you can head back to the Ponderosa. I'm going to stay here until she wakes up."

"Alright, son." Ben said. He left the building and rode back to the Ponderosa. Eventually, Libby's brown eyes fluttered open.

"Joe." she said, blinking up at him.

"Libby. You're awake." he said, smiling. She realized that he had been holding her hand, and and she smiled up at him.

"How do you feel?" Joe asked her.

"My head hurts a little." she said.

"That's understandable." the doctor said.

"Joe, what... Where's my uncle?" she said, sitting up in bed.

"He's in jail, Libby. He's not gonna hurt you anymore." Joe told her. She sighed, laying back again.

"So, what now?" Libby asked.

"I think you better rest for a while, Libby. I'll be right here." Joe said.

"I'd rather go back to the Ponderosa if that's okay." she said.

"It should be alright. Just so she takes it easy for a while." the doctor said. Joe helped her out of bed, in spite of her protests that she was fine. It was dark by the time they stepped outside.

"Joe." she said, "Thank you."

"I promised I wouldn't let him take you, and I meant it." Joe said. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled, and helped her up onto his horse, then he himself got up, sitting in front of her. They rode back to the Ponderosa.

"Well, look who's here." Hoss said when Joe and Libby entered the ranch-house.

"How are you feeling, Libby?" Ben asked.

"I'm alright, Ben. Thanks." she said, "But, I think I'm just going to go to bed, if that's alright."

"Of course." Ben said.

"Just let us know if you need anythin'." Hoss said.

"I will. Thanks, Hoss." she said as she walked up the stairs.

"She'll be alright." Ben said, "She's been through a lot."


	4. Chapter 4

-Part 4-

One morning, a couple of days later, Libby walked downstairs to find a man talking to the Cartwrights.

"Libby," Ben said, when he saw her, "This is the deputy sheriff."

"Hello." she said as she approached them.

"You're Vincent Carmine's niece?" the deputy asked.

"Yes. That's me." she said, narrowing her dark eyes at him.

"He wanted me to send for you. He wants to talk to you." the deputy told her.

"He tried to kill me." she said.

"Yes, I know that." the deputy said, "But, still he would like to talk to you."

"Would you like us to go with you?" Ben asked. She shook her head.

"No." she said, "It's alright, Ben. Thank you. But, I need to do this myself."

"Libby, are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Joe asked.

"It's alright, Joe. Thanks." she said, touching his arm before leaving with the deputy. They rode into Virginia City to the sheriff's office. She took a deep breath, and walked back to the jail cell.

"Elizabeth." her uncle, Vincent said.

"Uncle." she said coldly.

"Elizabeth... I didn't think you would come." Vincent said.

"I'm tired of running away. I have to face my past." she said.

"Elizabeth, I want to say that... I'm so sorry for all the things I've done to you all those years. I know that may not mean much, but, I want to make things right. I understand if you don't want to give me another chance." he said. Libby wanted to just walk away, but she couldn't bring herself to. This didn't sound like the uncle she had known all of those years. Never before had he ever even acknowledged that he was doing wrong, much less showed any desire to make things right.

"Why now, all of a sudden?" she asked.

"Ben Cartwright came to talk to me after I was arrested. He made me realize... I was wrong, Elizabeth." he explained, "I had it all wrong. For so long, every time I looked at you, it reminded me of your mother. I was so angry. I even blamed her death on you. But, Ben made me see that I had things all wrong. He made me realize that it wasn't your fault. He made me see that you're the only family I have left, and you're all I have left of your mother. I want you to give me another chance, to try to be a family."

"It'll take time." Libby answered.

"I understand. I'm just relieved that you're willing to consider giving me another chance." he said.

Later that day, Joe found Libby sitting in her room, thinking about everything that had happened.

"Hey." he said, standing in the doorway to the room.

"Hey, Little Joe." she said, looking at him.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"Of course." she said. He sat down beside her on the bed.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah." she said, "Just thinking about everything that happened with my uncle Vincent."

"What did your uncle want, anyhow? I was going to ask you, but I figured you wanted to be by yourself for a while." Joe said.

"He wants to try and make things right. He wants me to give him another chance." she told him.

"Do you think he's tryin' to trick you?" Joe asked. Libby shook her head.

"No. He was always straightforward with his rage. When I saw him today, he wasn't even acting like himself. He was different." she answered.

"Why now, after all those years?" Joe asked.

"He said it was your father. He talked to him, made him see how wrong he was." Libby said.

"My pa does have a way of making people see things the right way." Joe said, "So, what are you gonna do?"

"I think... I'm going to give him another chance. I think it's what your father would tell me to do. And, I think it's what my mother would want." she answered, "I'll keep visiting him in jail. But, I won't go back to San Francisco with him. I want to stay here in Nevada... maybe even on the Ponderosa... if you'll have me, of course."

"I'd like that, Libby. I think we all would." Joe said. She smiled, and Joe leaned in and kissed her.


	5. Chapter 5

-Part 5-

One evening, about a month later, Libby was out in the barn, brushing her horse, Stella, when Little Joe walked in.

"Good evening, Little Joe." she said, smiling at him for a moment before continuing what she was doing.

"Hey, Libby, I wanted to talk to you. Do you wanna to riding for a while?" Joe asked.

"It's getting kind of late." Libby said.

"Yeah, I... wanted to talk to you earlier, but I had a lot of work to do, and you went over to the jail to visit your uncle..." he said.

"Well, alright then." Libby said. They saddled up their horses and went riding on the land of the Ponderosa. They reached the banks of Lake Tahoe, and decided to stop for a few moments. They got off of their horses, letting them drink and graze. The sun was setting in the distance over the lake.

"Wow." Libby said, staring, "The sunset is beautiful."

"Not as pretty as you." Joe said.

"Little Joe Cartwright," she said, "You're such a smooth talker." Joe grinned.

"Joe, you said you wanted to talk to me." she said.

"Libby, I don't really know how to ask you this." Joe said.

"Joe, you can ask me anything." Libby said.

"Libby, I've never met anybody like you. I've liked lots of women, but this is different, you're different." he said, taking something from his coat pocket and getting down on one knee, "Libby Valentine, will you marry me?" Libby was shocked. She had never imagined that this was what he had in mind when he had told her he wanted to talk to her and brought her out there. The ring was nice, not too fancy, but still nicer than most people living in the Virginia City area could afford. But, she didn't care about the ring. She barely even looked at it. It the fact that Little Joe was asking her to marry him that she cared about. She had heard that he had been a bit of a flirt before he met her, so for him to actually ask her to marry him...

"Joe, you're asking..." she started to say, but she didn't finish her sentence.

"I'm asking you to marry me, Libby." Joe said.

"Me? Are you sure?" Libby asked.

"Libby, I wouldn't ask you if I wasn't sure." he answered.

"Little Joe Cartwright, yes, I will marry you." she said, smiling. Joe smiled as he put the ring on her finger. Then, he stood and kissed her.

"We'd better go tell my pa and brothers." Joe said, smiling.

"Right." Libby said, smiling back at him.

When they for back to the ranch-house, the other Cartwrights were sitting around, waiting for them.

"Where on earth have you two been?" Ben asked.

"I'm sorry we were out so late, Ben." Libby said, hiding her left hand from view so as not to ruin the surprise.

"What's going on with your hand there, Elizabeth?" Adam asked, noticing that she was keeping her hand hidden from everyone's view. In the time she had been living there, Adam had come to think of her as a little sister, and she had come to idolize Adam as a big brother.

"Oh, nothing, Adam. You know, I just..." she said.

"I asked Libby to marry me, and she said yes." Joe said, excitedly. Libby smiled, and showed them the ring on her finger.

"Well, I'll be dad-burned." Hoss said as he and the other two Cartwrights stood from where they were sitting and approached Joe and Libby.

"You poor girl." Adam said, smiling at her and patting her on the shoulder, "You lost your chance to run away, you know."

"It's alright, Adam." Libby said, laughing a little, "I didn't plan on going anywhere."

"Well, congratulations, Elizabeth. It's always nice to have you around. I'll be happy to have you for a sister-in-law." Adam said.

"Thanks, Adam." she said, smiling.

"Joe," Adam said, patting his youngest brother on the shoulder, "Congratulations."

"Thanks, Adam." Joe said, smiling at his oldest brother, patting him on the shoulder as well.

"Miss Libby, I think you'll be a mighty fine sister-in-law, and a mighty fine wife for Little Joe." Hoss said.

"Thanks, Hoss." and said smiling.

"Little Joe," Hoss said, hugging his younger brother, "Congratulations."

"Thanks, Hoss." Joe said.

"Congratulations, Libby." Ben said, shaking her hand and patting her on the shoulder, "You're a fine young woman, and I'll be proud to have you as a daughter-in-law. I couldn't ask for a better wife for Little Joe."

"Thanks, Ben. That means a lot." she said.

"Congratulations, son." Ben said, hugging his youngest son.

"Thanks, pa." Joe said, hugging his father.

"Libby, welcome to our family." Ben said.

THE END


End file.
